In the food processing industry it has been found that there is a need to pierce many fruits after they have been harvested. Sometimes the fruit may be pierced to remove the pit. This is especially true in the processing of cherries. However, non-pitted fruits such as cranberries may also require piercing prior to being treated with sweeteners. Cranberries are the fruits of the cranberry bush, which is a plant belonging to the heath family and is grown in bogs in the Northern Hemisphere. They are in the form of a ball having a diameter of 15 to 20 mm. As cranberries are strongly acidic, fresh cranberries are not suitable for eating; they are squeezed to provide cranberry juice, cooked with sugar to provide a preserve, or sweetened then dried to provide dried cranberries, which are eaten as dried fruit. Tart fruits, such as cranberries, can be made more palatable by infusing the fruit with a sweet solution prior to consumption.
In the past, fruit piercers were constructed so that at least some portion of the drive assembly was located inside of the frame assembly. This created a situation where lubricants from the drive assembly could contaminate the fruit as it was being pierced. Placing the drive assembly outside of the frame assembly also facilitates easier servicing. Thus a need exists for a fruit piercer with an external drive assembly.